This invention relates to a fabric spreader for knitted goods arranged between the system of the main knitting elements of a circular knitting machine and its take-up rollers for the knitted goods.
The knitted goods has the shape of a hose at the moment of its origin in the system of the main knitting elements of a circular knitting machine. Prior to its entrance between the take-up rollers and while it is being wound on the roller for the knitted goods, its shape has to be changed by the fabric spreader to a planar shape. Fabric spreaders of known design consist generally of stable expanding elements of circular or oval shape which are adjustable in width. Some known fabric spreaders are, in addition to these expanding elements, also provided with flat springs. But all these known fabric spreaders have one drawback, particularly in cases in which the distance between the take-up rollers and the place of origin of the knitted goods is small. A non-uniform tension is generated in the take-up knitted goods in the wales simultaneously with a resulting non-uniform entrance of the knitted goods into the take-up rollers. These non-uniformities are fixed in the knitted goods after the winding of the knitted goods on the roller, and can be removed prior to its further treatment with great difficulties only, particularly with synthetic materials.